Kara Simonson is proof that you should never underestimate the power of childhood toys.

When she was 3 or 4 years old, her parents bought her a Fisher Price doctor’s kit “with a fake syringe and stethoscope,” said Simonson, a 2002 Hononegah graduate who was one of 40 outstanding teenagers picked as Young Americans that year by the Register Star.

Simonson’s grandmother also lived near the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Rockford, and Simonson said even the building fascinated her.

“Since I was really little, I wanted to be in medicine.”

Simonson earned a bachelor’s degree at Rockford College, where she also had time to place second in the 2006 Miss Rockford contest and win the 2004 and 2006 Miss Freeport titles, which allowed her to compete in the Miss Illinois pageant.

She earned a medical degree from the University of Illinois in 2010. Simonson is an internal medicine and pediatrics resident at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and Ohio State University.

Her eventual goal is to specialize in pulmonary and critical care medicine, focusing on patients with asthma and cystic fibrosis.

“I did a rotation in a cystic fibrosis clinic and it offered a more holistic concept in treatment. They concentrated on nutrition and dietary support. Genetics counselors and lung specialists were very involved with the families. It was something I was very drawn to.”

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease that causes thick, sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive tract. This can clog the lungs and lead to life-threatening lung infections. Ten years ago, the life expectancy for someone with the disease was 18. Today, it’s 35.

She’s well on the way to where she’s always wanted to end up, but the career has its challenges.

“I wasn’t always sure it would turn out this way. It’s not the easiest path to choose. I’m really working on balancing a life outside of work and having some fun.”

She’ll add some balance in September when she marries her fiance, Akira Wada, whom she met in Peoria during her medical training.